


of onyx and obsidian

by silverstrain



Series: tales of tails [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, mermaid au, mermaid!Kageyama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-05-20 03:57:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5990905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silverstrain/pseuds/silverstrain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A boy with vibrant orange hair, no older than fifteen, sinks slowly towards the ocean floor in a shaft of sunlight. He thrashes and pulls at the bindings around his wrists and ankles frantically, but the ropes show no signs of giving way as he continues to sink lower. His eyes are a dark brown, large with panic in his small face, and the one thing he could ever use to describe them was the color of warmth. With a few more yanks, bubbles begin to float upwards all around him. The boy's movements get slower and slower, until, with a final gush of bubbles, his eyes slowly slide shut and he lands on the sandy ocean floor with a soft thud.<br/> <br/>Kageyama waits a few seconds, eyes flickering left and right, alert for any possible dangers. Then, his curiosity gets the best of him, and he swims towards the boy who looks like the sun itself.</p>
<p>Or, the mermaid au that no-one asked for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	of onyx and obsidian

**Author's Note:**

> kageyama is a shapeshifting mermaid i guess?? so basically he can shift back into human form, along with the rest of the karasuno (+nekoma+fukurodani teams but this is only in my original au) but all of them live on an island away from the mainland where the humans dont come very often
> 
> i thought about making this a multichapter fic but we'll see how this goes i guess? i have so many ideas but so little motivation jesus christ
> 
> kudos + comments are always appreciated and please tell me if you'd like to see sequels/another chapter/something?

Kageyama has always liked to explore.

 

If any human were able to see him where he was now, they would say that he has beautiful eyes - and he does; strikingly blue, matching the deep hue of the ocean he so loved, twin spheres of ultramarine barely concealed underneath a dark fringe. If they didn't say that, they would comment on his tattoo; how the strong, black lines of the wing-like pattern stood out sharply against the alabaster of the skin on his shoulders, rippling with the movement of his muscles as he swam through the ocean. However, his most noticeable feature would actually be his tail, beginning slowly from his hips. Embedded with smooth black scales that glimmered with an almost-otherworldly light, it dimly reflected a myriad of pearly colors in the afternoon sun, as did his dark hair drifting gently in the current.

 

With strong, sure movements, his tail propels him through the clear blue waters of the Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of Japan. The sunlight filters down through the rippling waves on the surface, and reflects off his glistening black scales. His days were often spent in such a manner, making his way through the ocean and sometimes finding different objects of fascination and bringing them home. With every flick of his tail, he revels in the pure power and adrenaline that rushes through his body, and he thinks, _never have I ever felt this free._

 

He swims down towards the ocean floor when something sparkling catches his eye; the dim glimmer of a silver ring, tarnished with age and set with a iridescent shard of obsidian. Under closer inspection, the black glass is shot through with strands of amber, just visible in the dwindling sunlight. He slides it into a pouch by his hip, just where his skin tapers off into scales.

 

The first thing he registers is a whoosh, then the shadow abruptly falling over his vision. Muscles tensing, Kageyama races towards the nearest coral reef and ducks behind it, heart beating a mile a minute. He remembers Suga always telling him, _Kageyama, stay away from the humans. Humans are deceitful, and they kill what they don’t understand. They don’t understand_ us _. Be careful out there._

 

He casts a furtive look beyond the rock, and the only thing he can think of is that he is looking at an extinguished sun.

 

A boy with vibrant orange hair, no older than fifteen, sinks slowly towards the ocean floor in a shaft of sunlight. He thrashes and pulls at the bindings around his wrists and ankles frantically, but the ropes show no signs of giving way as he continues to sink lower. His eyes are a dark brown, large with panic in his small face, and the one thing he could ever use to describe them was the color of warmth. With a few more yanks, bubbles begin to float upwards all around him. The boy's movements get slower and slower, until, with a final gush of bubbles, his eyes slowly slide shut and he lands on the sandy ocean floor with a soft _thud._

 

Kageyama waits a few seconds, eyes flickering left and right, alert for any possible dangers. Then, his curiosity gets the best of him, and he swims towards the boy who looks like the sun itself.

 

The shaft of sunlight is fading by the second, but the boy's golden-orange hair drifts calmly in the current, his expression almost peaceful. Kageyama's rational side wars with his emotional side for a second; his emotional side wins out. He picks up the boy by the armpits and within moments they reach the surface.

 

The shape of a ship sailing away from them is murky in the fog of dusk.

 

__

 

It is nearing dawn when they finally reach land.

 

After slicing off the boy's bindings with the dagger sheathed by his hip, he awkwardly towed the boy along in his wake, careful not to splash water at him too much. He has had to pause multiple times during the slow swim there, checking for the pulse that beats, ever so faintly, in the boy's chest. Plus, towing a human through the ocean in pitch darkness is quite disconcerting, to say the least. It takes him several tries to reorient himself, with only the light of the stars to guide him toward land. But, eventually, they make it. Kageyama knows this beach, knows this cove, can even call himself familiar with it. It is a regular haunt of his, the smooth rocks and seclusion from the mainland making it a good place to lie in the sun alone, away from his companions back on the island. 

 

He wriggles ungracefully out of the tide, his tail failing to find traction on the slippery sand. Kageyama sighs and rolls his eyes, wishing he had legs if only to make things easier. He refrains, though, since the last thing he wants to do is startle the boy with the sight of a naked person sitting next to him in the surf.

 

The early rays of sunlight play over the boy's gentle features, and Kageyama notices that the boy is pale and gaunt, dark circles rimming his closed eyes. His chest rises and falls gently, clothed in shabby scraps of cloth that could barely pass as clothing. The long swim here has done nothing for the grime that is caked into his skin and his fingertips, and dark bruises mar the pale white skin along his jaw. His hair is matted into thick strands lying haphazard on his forehead, the color as if someone has taken the shades of the sunrise and woven them into strands of unruly hair. Kageyama can’t help but reach out a shaky hand and brush some of his bright hair off his forehead. He remembers the ring he found before the untimely arrival of the boy--he removes it from his pouch and slides it onto the boy's index finger, if only to leave the littlest impression. He couldn’t fathom forgetting _him_ after all.

 

Kageyama only just realizes that he did nothing about trying to wake the boy up or care for him. He clumsily maneuvers himself up into a sitting position, his tail nestled neatly underneath him. He places his hands on the boy's chest and gives an experimental push.

 

The boy abruptly begins to cough up seawater, almost jerking upright; Kageyama is almost shocked at how much water this human has swallowed _and yet he's still alive._ The coughing subsides and the boy settles back onto the sand, but his eyes are now _open,_ lazily blinking in the morning sun.

 

"Who…are you?" His voice is rough, scratchy from the salt water in his system.

 

"Kageyama," He answers after a moment. "Kageyama Tobio."

 

The boy grins faintly, and his extinguished sun begins to gain fiery rays of light. His hand reaches out tentatively, fingertips skimming over Kageyama's scales lightly. The muscles in his tail tense, his fins twitching as the boy's fingers drift along the surface lightly.

 

"Tobio…pretty…" His eyes flutter shut, and his chest continues to rise and fall.

 

Kageyama scowls and huffs, "I'm not pretty," at nobody in particular, and  quells the little cloud of warmth he feels. He settles down beside the boy, propping him up against his tail.

 

They sit, the waves lapping around them gently in the early morning sun. Kageyama watches the sun rise slowly in the sky, and a sliver of unease curls in his spine. _I've never been away this long; will they worry about me?_

 

The distant sound of footsteps making their way through the dense forest to their right is what rouses Kageyama from his stupor.  With clinical movements, he pulls away and takes a shaky breath, casting one last glance at his extinguished sun before diving back into the welcoming arms of the ocean. He takes refuge behind a nearby rock, close enough for him to see and hear anything about to happen, but far enough that the humans on the shore would not notice his presence.

 

A short, slender form emerges from the woods, small hands clutching the handle of a wicker basket. Kageyama  recognizes this girl--she comes to the cove to look for seashells and other knick-knacks a few times a week. If the boy he saved was the sun, then this girl would be the stars. She has shoulder-length blonde hair, the color of spun gold.

 

 She notices the body lying half-in, half-out of the surf and lets out a soft _squeak_ , dropping her basket and rushing to his side.

 

"Hello? Hi, are you alive?" She says urgently, shaking the boy's shoulder. "Yachi, stop being ridiculous, he can't hear you if he's dead." She mutters to herself agitatedly, fingers deftly moving to the boy's pulse at his neck. Satisfied with what she felt, she resumed her shaking, and the boy begins to stir.

 

_So her name was Yachi,_ Kageyama thinks to himself.

 

"Hey, can you hear me?" Yachi repeats softly. The boy takes a deep breath and opens his eyes, blinking like a doe. "My name's Yachi Hitoka, I found you lying here a couple of minutes ago; can you tell me your name?"

 

The boy looks around disconcertedly, then slowly faces Yachi. "My name…"

 

"Yes?" Yachi says patiently, taking the boy's hand in hers.

 

He sits up slowly, taking in his surroundings as if he couldn't believe he was there. "My name… Hinata… Shouyou."

 

_Shouyou._ Kageyama rolls the syllables around his tongue. _Hinata Shouyou, huh. Like the sun._

 

He watched as Yachi helped Hinata stand up on shaky legs and lead him from the cove, clumsily traipsing back the way she had come. A feeling of warmth washed over him, like soft rays of sunlight, and he knew Hinata would be safe with her. A rare smile graced his features and he dove back underwater, beginning the long journey home.

 

____

 

In the end, Kageyama finds himself heading in the cove's direction more often than not; and whenever he couldn’t help himself, he would always see the orange-haired boy sitting at the edge of the surf, letting the waves lap the shore gently around him.

 

Hinata is almost always there when he arrives, sitting calmly by the shoreline, face tilted upwards towards the azure-blue sky. Occasionally, he'll look out over the white-tipped waves and cast his gaze towards the horizon, where the sun has barely risen and the sunlight just begins to shine its soft rays over the world. Over time, Kageyama notices that the dark circles around his eyes are significantly lighter, and he begins to gain a bit more weight onto his small frame. The grime in his skin has been washed away thoroughly, and the silky strands of his hair gleam in the early morning sunlight. _That’s good,_ Kageyama thinks. _At least he’s being taken care of._

_I wonder if he remembers me?_

 

He always leaves before noon; standing up and trudging off towards the woods, presumably back to Yachi's home. Kageyama always feels a little lost when he goes, because _what am I going to do now?_ However, he's already noticed the glint of a silver ring on his index finger. He hopes that he at least has a small recollection. The thought makes him more hopeful than he should be. The feeling is a small spiral of warmth in his chest, and he smiles softly as he swims back home in the dimming rays of sunlight.

 

_____

"Kageyama, so you've finally returned, huh." The look on Daichi's face is positively frightening as he glances up from the pile of floor plans that cluttered his desk.

 

"Daichi, don't frighten him so much," Suga says, smiling sheepishly. "I'm sure he didn't mean to worry us."

 

Kageyama swallowed and looked down at his toes. "Sorry, Daichi. I was out stalking some prey, and didn’t notice the time. By then, the sun had set and it was really hard to find my way back so I ended up staying underwater."

 

Daichi huffs and stands up, the chair scraping the floor with a harsh screech. "Kageyama, I'm sorry for calling you in like this, but we've just been on our toes a little."

 

"What? Why? Is there something wrong?" Kageyama asks urgently.

 

"Well, no. But reports have come in about increased human traffic around this area, so I just needed to make sure you weren't seen by any humans."

 

"Humans?" Kageyama splutters, stumbling back a few steps. "No, of course not!" _They can't-- they can't have already found out._

 

"Nekoma hunters reported that more humans have been trafficking around this area lately. Be on your guard, anyway. Staying underwater was a good call," Daichi says.

 

Kageyama pauses, and shifts his gaze to Daichi's slowly. "Are humans really that dangerous?"

 

Suga places a gentle hand on his shoulder. "In the past, a few of us had been kidnapped by the humans or caught up in their nets. We can't know for sure, and we should always stay on our toes. We protect our own, and if we have to do it by staying away from the humans, I'm sure we can accommodate."

 

"But what if some humans were kind?" He blurts out without thinking.

 

"Kind? Kageyama, don't you see? They _killed_ our kind, just because they didn't understand what we were! We live on this island, protected from those murderers, purely because of this danger. As one of our sharpest hunters, who spends the most time away from us, it's important that you stay safe and also stay on guard. That's why Daichi and I wanted to warn you."

 

"But--"

 

"Kageyama, _please._ "

 

"…alright."

 

_____

 He arrives at the cove one day, and Hinata is not alone.

 

The girl with hair the color of spun gold, Yachi, sits beside him in the surf, eyes drifting towards the colors of the sunrise. Hinata points at the dimming constellations in the brightening sky, and Yachi smiles and grins, nodding her assent as he explains with a glowing gesture of his hands.

 

He looks at them and feels out of place; a boy who shone like the sun and a girl who shimmered like the stars; a golden sun and a golden flower-- where would there be space for the shadow that he is?

 

Kageyama turns and dives back into the surf, and the sea doesn’t feel as welcoming.

__

 

No matter how hard he tries, he still finds himself at the cove once more, hiding in the shelter of an outcropping of rock. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore is soothing in the late hours of morning, and Hinata sits on the edge of the surf, drawing patterns that disappear all too quickly in the surf and the sand.

 

After a while, he looks up, eyes uncannily finding the exact spot Kageyama is. “I know you’re there.”

 

Kageyama holds his breath, and his heart skips a beat.

 

“Thank you for saving my life,” he continues, his voice overflowing with sincerity and kindness and a strange kind of warmth that Kageyama has had far too little experience with in his lifetime.

 

“I just wanted to let you know that I was grateful, and that I wasn’t going to persecute you with some villagers and a bunch of pitchforks or something,” Hinata rambles on, nervousness clouding his tone slightly. “I mean, you left me this ring, so I’m sure you meant something by that, right? Or am I just imagining things…”

 

He squints at the ring, ever more radiant in the rays of the sun.

 

Kageyama feels like a weight has been taken off his shoulders. _So, he's safe right? I can talk to him?_

 

“Kage…yama. Kageyama Tobio-kun,” Hinata repeats, twisting the ring around his finger.

 

“What was I thinking… Maybe he isn’t here. Maybe he doesn't even exist, for crying out loud.” Kageyama doesn’t mistake the underlying note of melancholy and sadness in the boy’s voice. Hinata collapses backwards with a thump, gazing up at the sky with a loud sigh.

 

Kageyama takes a deep breath, and makes his way over to Hinata’s spot in the surf, getting as close as he can without a sound and then shifting himself around in the shallower areas I order to get more comfortable. He hopes he's done the right thing by trusting this human, but then, such a small, innocent human wouldn't be evil and want to kill him, right? Maybe Suga and Daichi were wrong.

 

“I mean,” he says, somewhat fondly. “It’s not like I would have left an innocent boy to drown in the ocean like that, right?"

 

Hinata looks at him then, and it was like his smile shone with the renewed brilliance of a thousand suns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

____bonus :D

He’s quiet for a moment, and Kageyama begins to worry that he’s said something wrong, but then he says, “You’re prettier than I remembered.”  
   
Kageyama flushes fiercely, casting his gaze down towards the sand. "Thanks, I guess."  
   
Hinata looks up, arm outstretched towards Kageyama’s scales. It’s as if he wakes up from a dream—“OH MY GOD UM UH HI IM HINATA SHOUYOU NICE TO—”  
   
“Dumbass Hinata,” Kageyama says, rolling his eyes. “I already know who you are.”  
   
“I KNEW YOU WERE REAL! Yachi kept telling me I was just delirious and that there was so such thing as mermaids with tails like obsidian but I was so sure. I even tried to get her to come, but she only came here once before giving up on the entire notion.” He pauses for breath, pale complexion slightly flushed.  
   
“Now that you’re here, it sort of doesn't feel real,” he breathes, a sense of awe in his tone. " I mean, I'm talking to a living, breathing, myth. How unreal could this get?"

Kageyama raises his brows, reaches out and flicks Hinata's forehead. "That feel real enough for you?"

"Ouch. Okay, you're pretty real." Hinata pouts and rubs his forehead. "Your face looks scary enough."

Kageyama scowls and looks away. "Has anyone told you that you're rude?"

"It's true though! You're all like no don't even try to look at me or I'll kill you like gwah! Pyuu!" Hinata gestures wildly, almost whacking Kageyama in the face in the process. The way he is so honest with his emotions is quite disarming, and Kageyama is at a loss for words for a moment.

"That's not what I look like!" he snarls, furious. "Why am I even trying to communicate with you when all you do is insult me?"

Hinata's grin fades a little, and he looks away, eyes downcast. "Oh…sorry."

Things are quiet for a moment, and Kageyama shifts in the sand awkwardly, looking away.

"Oi, Tobio, so what's it like living under the sea?" he says, out of the blue.

Kageyama pauses. "We don't."

Hinata tilts his head to the side, confused. "What do you mean you don't? Aren't you a mermaid?"

"Stop calling me a mermaid, dumbass. I'm clearly not a girl." He huffs. "It’s a little complicated to explain."

"Do tell. I've pretty much got all day." Hinata grins cheekily and settles down on the sand.

"What about you though? How's Yachi?" He says, trying to change the topic. His brain was telling him not to trust this human too much, and technically, being cautious would be the smart thing to do. Not that being smart was one of Kageyama's strong suits.

"Wait a second, you know Yachi? Then how come she claims you're not real?" Hinata says, incredulous.

"I don't; I overheard her name when she introduced herself to you."

"Oh." he calms down somewhat, and smiles at Kageyama. "Yachi's really nice, and Kiyoko-san too, they're letting me stay at their home on the other side of this forest. It's pretty cool and all, but sometimes I just feel like I'm intruding, that's all. That's why I'm here so often."

"Kiyoko…san?" Kageyama questions briefly.

"Yachi's housemate!" Hinata explains. "They're always together, and they're so in sync it's almost scary sometimes, but they're both really kind and caring! Plus, Kiyoko-san's food is to die for."

"I see," Kageyama replies absently, lying down in the sand.

"They say that in a couple of days, I can go to the village nearby and start looking for work or something. Because I've been complaining about overstaying my welcome too much apparently," Hinata grumbles. "I'm really excited though! I used to be a baker, back befo-" he furrows his brows and stops.

"Before I found you in the ocean?" Kageyama supplies, prompting Hinata to continue.

"Yeah." Hinata's quiet for a moment, and they sit in a companionable silence. "I'm from the next town over, before I was kidnapped by those men on the ship. They threw me overboard because I was too small to be sold for a good sum of money, and then you saved me, so I ended up here. It's not so bad, I think," Hinata says, looking over at Kageyama, who cracks open an eyelid to look at him. "My family passed away from that bout of the plague a couple of years ago, so it's not like I have anything to go back to. I've decided to stay with Yachi and Kiyoko for the time being, and it also means I can be friends with you!" He grins with all the brightness of a summer morning, and Kageyama feels hope grow in his chest because am I finally going to have a friend of my own?

"What's a baker?" He asks, curious.

Hinata bolts upright and looms over him, blocking out the sunlight. "No. You're not telling me that you don't know what a baker is."

"I don't," Kageyama says, frowning slightly. "Is that, like, your job?"

"Yes! Well, it used to be my job back in my old town, but I'm hoping I can pick it up again soon! It's sort of like, mixing together a couple of ingredients to become a dough and putting it into an oven." Seeing Kageyama's confused expression, he continues. "An oven is like a stove that traps really fiery hot air inside, and it makes the air inside the dough expand and become chewy and fluffy!"

Kageyama wasn't understanding most of what he was saying, but seeing the animated look on his face was almost enough. Hinata's cheeks were alight with a rosy glow as he tried to explain his passion, and although he didn't understand most of what he was talking about, he willingly let him carry on for quite a while.

"You didn't get any of that, did you?" Hinata said, calming down.

Kageyama shakes his head, a little sheepishly.

"That's okay. I'll just make sure to bring you loads of awesome foods!" Hinata declares, grinning. "That is, if I'm going to see you again?" He trails off, cocking his head and looking at Kageyama through slanted eyes.

Kageyama knows he shouldn’t, knows he should just say goodbye and disappear from this boy's life forever, but he can’t help himself. "Yeah. Yeah, you will."

"Great! As soon as I get that job in town, I'll make sure to bring you my favorite!"

"You know, your people skills really need some work," Hinata smiles cheekily when Kageyama doesn't make any sort of reply. "You're sorta like a…" his face scrunches up as he tries to think of a word. "I don't know. But I'll figure it out eventually!"

"Sure you will." He lets a small smile linger on his lips before closing them again.

**Author's Note:**

> *leaves this here* *slinks away*  
> i tried to fit the bonus here but it really didnt work out  
> let me know what you guys think!!!!


End file.
